Dean Butler
|birth_place = Prince George, British Columbia, Canada |occupation = Actor, producer, screenwriter |years_active = 1976-2008 (actor); 2005-present (producer) |spouse = Katherine Cannon (2001-present) |series = Little House on the Prairie (TV series) |character = Almanzo Wilder |episodes = 47 episodes in Seasons 6-9 and 3 TV movie specials }}Dean Butler (born May 20, 1956) played the part of Almanzo Wilder, the husband of Laura Ingalls on Little House on the Prairie. Early years Born in Prince George, British Columbia, and raised in Piedmont, California, Dean studied communication arts at the University of the Pacific in Stockton, CA. Career Butler's career as an actor started with a small part on the TV series The Streets of San Francisco. His first major role was in the 1978 TV movie Forever, based on Judy Blume's novel of the same title. Dean's first apperance on "Little House on the Prairie was in the episode "Back to School (Part 1)", the opener of Season 6; he was in his mid twenties at the time. He married Katherine Cannon in 2002 and they sadly have no children. Director/Producer Butler now works largely behind the camera producing entertainment, sports, and documentary programming. Butler produces Feherty for Golf Channel, starring David Feherty. In addition, he is a West Coast correspondent for Broadway World, a provider of web content about the performing arts. Butler has directed, produced, written, and narrated bonus features for Little House on the Prairie DVD collections. He narrated a six-part documentary, The Little House Phenomenon. Butler has produced two documentaries, Little House on the Prairie: The Legacy of Laura Ingalls Wilder and Almanzo Wilder: Life Before Laura, which drew their inspiration from the Little House books of Laura Ingalls Wilder. Additionally, in 2012, Butler co-executive produced Pa's Fiddle: The Music of America for PBS. Family/Personal life Dean has been married to actress Katherine Cannon, who's best known for her role as Felice Martin on the long-running FOX TV series Beverly Hills: 90210, since 2001. They met when Cannon auditioned for the female lead in the Michael Landon series Father Murphy. They live in Los Angeles Episode appearances: ;Season 6 #''"Back to School (Part 1)"'' (Season opener) #''"Back to School (Part 2)"'' (episode #2) #''"Annabelle"'' (episode #5) #''"The Faith Healer"'' (episode #10) #''"The Angry Heart"'' (episode #13) #''"The Werewolf of Walnut Grove"'' (episode #14) #''"Silent Promises"'' (episode #17) #''"Wilder And Wilder"'' (episode #19) #''"Sweet Sixteen"'' (episode #21) #''"He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not (Part 1)"'' (episode #22) #''"He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not (Part 2)"'' (episode #23) ;Season 7 #''"Laura Ingalls Wilder (Part 1)"'' (Season opener) #''"Laura Ingalls Wilder (Part 2)"'' (episode #2) #''"Fight Team Fight!"'' (episode #4) #''"Portrait of Love"'' (episode #6) #''"Divorce, Walnut Grove Style"'' (episode #7) #''"The In-Laws"'' (episode #9) #''"Oleson Versus Oleson"'' (episode #12) #''"The Nephews"'' (episode #14) #''"Goodbye, Mrs. Wilder"'' (episode #16) #''"I Do, Again"'' (episode #20) ;Season 8 #''"Growing Pains"'' (episode #3) #''"Dark Sage"'' (episode #4) #''"A Wiser Heart"'' (episode #5) #''"The Legend of Black Jake"'' (episode #7) #''"Chicago"'' (episode #8) #''"Wave of the Future"'' (episode #10) #''"A Christmas They Never Forgot"'' (episode #11) #''"No Beast so Fierce"'' (episode #12) #''"Stone Soup"'' (episode #13) #''"The Legacy"'' (episode #14) #''"Uncle Jed"'' (episode #15) #''"Second Chance"'' (episode #16) #''"Days of Sunshine, Days of Shadow (Part 1)'' (episode #17) #''"Days of Sunshine, Days of Shadow (Part 2)'' (episode #18) #''"A Promise to Keep"'' (episode #19) ;Season 9 #''"Times Are Changing (Part 1)"'' (season opener) #''"Times Are Changing (Part 2)"'' (episode #2) #''"Welcome to Olesonville"'' (episode #3) #''"Rage"'' (episode #4) #''"Little Lou"'' (episode #5) #''"The Wild Boy (Part 1)"'' (episode #6) #''"The Wild Boy (Part 2)"'' (episode #7) #''"The Return of Nellie"'' (episode #8) #''"The Empire Builders"'' (episode #9) #''"Love"'' (episode #10) #''"Alden's Dilemma"'' (episode #11) #''"Marvin's Garden"'' (episode #12) #''"Sins of the Fathers"'' (episode #13) #''"The Older Brothers"'' (episode #14) #''"Once Upon A Time"'' (episode #15) #''"Home Again (Part 1)"'' (episode #16) #''"Home Again (Part 2)"'' (episode #17) #''"A Child With No Name"'' (episode #18) #''"The Last Summer"'' (episode #19) #''"For the Love of Blanche"'' (episode #20) #''"May I Have This Dance"'' (episode #21) #''"Hello and Goodbye"'' (episode #22, season/series finale) ;TV Movie specials #''"Little House: Look Back to Yesterday"'' (TV movie) #''"Little House: Bless All the Dear Children"'' (TV movie) #''"Little House: The Last Farewell"'' (TV movie) References External Links *NNDB * Category:Actors